


Bad Liar

by IneffableSerpent



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: And Roman loves flowers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Deceit has a garden, First Kiss, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confession, M/M, Miscommunication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:54:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21997069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IneffableSerpent/pseuds/IneffableSerpent
Summary: Deceit hid a lot of things from the other Sides. One of those things happen to be a secret garden full of flowers. Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately), Roman decided to follow him.My Secret Santa gift for @Wolfcubedits on Instagram!
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Deceit Sanders
Comments: 10
Kudos: 161





	Bad Liar

Deceit hid a lot of things from the other Sides. He hid his name. He hid his past. He hid his interests and all the things that made him tick. He hid his feelings. But most importantly, he hid a small garden behind the loose bricks of his farthest wall.

Deceit's shoulders sagged as he retreated into his room. His plan hadn't worked the way he wanted it to, and forty minutes of a courtroom debate took a quite a hit on him. He took off his hat and unclasped his cape before setting them gently on his desk. 

He made his way around his bed and pushed his gloved hands against the wall. It trembled and collapsed backwards. His mismatched eyes winced at the dazzling sun and he traveled down onto the land of coarse dirt and soft grass. The heat of the morning comforted his scales and for once, he allowed himself to smile.

The garden consisted mostly of dandelions, with a few sunflowers scattered around. A pale yellow bench sat in the center with smooth pebbles leading up to it. Deceit plopped himself down on it and swung a leg over an armrest, back against the other, and sighed. He stretched his arms above his head and closed his eyes.

"You know, I thought all your secrets were malicious but this has clearly proved me wrong," said a bold voice, thick with a familiar accent. Deceit shot up and snarled at the intruder.

"How the hell did you find this!" He hissed.

"I wanted to talk to you about... You know. So, I followed you into your room, and well," Roman coughed. "I was curious."

"Curious?" Deceit scoffed. "Get out." 

"Wait, no-"

"I said, get out!"

"But-"

"I'm counting to five, and if you don't leave in time, I will _definitely_ not unleash a hoard of snakes at you."

"Deceit, listen-"

"One."

"I promise I won't tell the others-"

"Two."

"And I still want to talk to you-"

"Three."

"And I promise I won't be a bother-"

"Four." 

"And your flowers are really pretty and can I please help you tend for them?"

"Fi- What?" Deceit knitted his eyebrows together.

"Your flowers. They're all very pretty," Roman gently patted the face of a sunflower. "I tried growing flowers myself instead of conjuring them, but they'd always wilt and die within weeks. I assume you grow these yourself?" He gestured at the gardening supplies under the bench.

"I- _Of course,_ I don't. Why would I take care of flowers? It doesn't help me _at all_." Deceit rubbed the back of his ear and turned away.

"Well, I heard from Logan that gardening could be quite calming," Roman made his way closer to Deceit. The snake froze as Roman stood right in front of him. "And you appeared fairly agitated when you sank down..." Roman shifted his weight onto one leg. "Can I sit with you?"

"Yes- I mean, no. You can't."

"...Alright," Roman clasped his hands behind his back. "Anyways. It would be fun if.. You could, perhaps, teach me how to grow flowers? Roses, preferably, but I suppose we can start with whatever you're comfortable with."

Deceit huffed. "And you won't tell the others?"

Roman grinned. "Cross my heart and hope to die." 

Deceit stared at the prince and tried to sense the slightest hint of a lie. He didn't. He glanced at an empty patch of grass, then back to the prince. "Fine. Get the supplies. Wear gloves."

"Yay!" Roman gasped. Deceit rolled his eyes. It _definitely_ wasn't cute.

\--

Midway through planting sunflower seeds, Deceit hummed and spoke up. "What was it that you wanted to ask me earlier?"

Roman pondered, tilting his head and pursing his lips. "Hm. I don't remember." He shrugged as he poked at the dirt, "'Suppose I'll remember it later, but I don't think it was too important, really." Deceit rolled his eyes once more.

\--

Deceit snapped his fingers and the wall behind him rebuilt itself. He stared at Roman with a raised eyebrow.

The prince bit his lip again. Deceit continued to stare. "Shall I come back tomorrow?"

"Oh, _no_. _Definitely_ not. It's not like you have to tend to it, or anything like that!" Deceit grumbled as he rested himself on his yellow-sheeted bed.

"O-oh! Right, right. Yes, of course." Roman sputtered as he slipped himself out the door. "See you tomorrow... I guess."

" _I guess_ ," Deceit mocked before laying himself down to sleep. The fairy lights adorning his room flickered off with another snap of his fingers.

\--

Roman threw himself off the bed and quickly changed into his regal attire on, with an addition of brown gloves and a golden apron. He wolfed the breakfast Patton made in an instant before moving to dash down the hall, into the darker side of the Mind Palace. A hand grappled onto his back and he yelped.

"Dude," Virgil laughed. "You've been wearing that all morning. What is it for?"

Roman grunted, "Gardening, obviously!"

"Gardening." Virgil tilted his head and squinted his eyes at him. "Where?"

"The Imagination?" 

Virgil inspected him a little closer before letting go. "...Sure." 

Roman sighed before continuing to his destination once Virgil was out of sight. He knocked on Deceit's door and bounced on the tips of his toes. A half-snake face peeked out as the door opened a crack. A snake tongue peeped between Deceit's soft lips and Roman held back a smile. He greeted with a wave.

"It isssss nine in the morning, Roman," said Deceit.

"I'm aware."

"Then why are you here. Don't you have something better to do? Go talk to Thomas, or ssssssomething!"

"I don't think Thomas needs me at the moment," Roman gently opened the door wider, allowing himself to walk in. Deceit didn't put up much of fight. "Plus, you promised me yesterday!"

Deceit groaned. "Thissss early in the morning!"

"Of course! Now, where is that wall.." Roman kicked at the wall in front of him. Nothing happened. "How dare you seal it when you know I'll be coming over today!"

"Because that is _most definitely_ the correct wall," Deceit deadpanned as he shoved the wall right next to Roman, and it crumbled. 

"Oh." And they both walked in.

\--

It had been three months since then, and it became a routine for Roman to visit Deceit at nine in the morning and leave either whenever he was summoned or at three in the afternoon. Deceit would complain every time but he knew Roman's early visits helped him improve his sleep schedule. And there was always something to Roman's smile that made him melt into a pile of snake mush.

This day, Roman had just begun to get the hang of tending to his fresh patch. Deceit sprawled across his bench as the prince watered the base of the plants, along with the thick grass and newfound dandelions. The air hung with comfortable silence before Roman spoke up.

"I.. I finally remembered what I wanted to tell you," said he.

"After three whole months?" Deceit giggled as he bathed in the sun. "Tell me what?"

"Well. Not tell, exactly. More of an ask.."

"It's _so_ not obvious that you're stalling. Shoot already," Deceit turned towards Roman just in time to catch the adorable blush on his cheeks. Deceit's heart clenched at the sight.

"In the courtroom," Roman hesitated. "When you said you loved me.. Did you really mean it?" And the clenching in Deceit's chest tightened as he propped himself straight.

"What do ever you mean?"

"Do you love me?" Roman dropped the watering can to look at Deceit with the biggest eyes the snake had ever seen. How dare he.

"I..." Deceit's throat dried up. Yes. "No. It was only to flatter you. Worked well, didn't it? I suppose I don't have to do it again since we're... Friends... Now."

"...Oh." 

Silence. Roman turned away.

"I-I think- I think Thomas is summoning me. I-I'm sorry- I must g-go-" Roman stammered before sinking out as quick as he could. Deceit tensed. He knew Thomas wasn't summoning the prince at all. 

_Shit._

\--

Roman fell onto his bed with a cry. He buried his face into the pillows as his shoulders shook. He chanted in his head not to sob but the tears were already there. He curled into a ball and hugged his knees tightly. 

His eyes met with a bouquet of roses on his dresser. He had grew them in the Imagination, where he could manipulate time as he pleased and sped up their growing process, but still did all the tasks needed to care for it. 

He wanted to give it to Deceit. As a thank you gift. A sign of his love for the snake that bloomed along with the flowers that surrounded them. He was so sure Deceit had loved him back. But he was wrong. Of course, he was.

Roman wasn't able to hold back the broken whimper that escaped from him, and he held himself tighter. 

\--

A week had passed and Roman didn't visit Deceit anymore. Deceit's garden changed quite a lot since then. There were now Roses and pink tulips between the dandelions and sunflowers. They weren't grown naturally, of course, Deceit did some frustrated snapping and any flower that reminded him of Roman began popping up. 

He didn't have the heart to cut them away the way he did Roman.

A part of Deceit regretted not telling Roman the truth. That he did, in fact, loved him. Dearly so, even. But his throat would rasp every time he thought about him, and his head spun with lies upon lies upon lies. And that made him despise Roman. 

Deceit was trudging towards his room after he finished off an argument with Patton and Virgil when he saw Roman holding something while standing in front of the door. He examined closer and noticed the prince shifting from leg to leg, bouncing, and shaking. 

Deceit steeled himself and mustered out his most menacing voice. "What are you doing here?"

It was then when he noticed the roses wrapped in a golden sheet, tied neatly with a red bow. A notecard hung loosely from its side. Deceit gulped.

"I-I wanted to give this to you? As... As a parting gift, I suppose. I don't know why.." Deceit took it from Roman and inspected it. Right as Roman moved to walk away, Deceit used his free hand to grab onto the prince. He pressed Roman against the door, earning a gasp. Deceit opened the notecard and read:

'Roses are red,  
Dandelions are yellow,  
Would you like to be my boyfriend,  
My sly snake fellow?'

"You weren't supposed to read that n-" Roman leaned against the door and frowned. "Oh, never mind. I'm not asking you to be my boyfriend, by the way.. I just wanted you to know. Even though you don't love me back. But please, next time you meet me.. Please don't flirt. It hurts me so, this fake facade of yours. It makes crave, yearn, for a life where you love-" Deceit released Roman and pressed a gloved finger to the other man's lips.

"Although you aren't asking me to be your boyfriend, would you be opposed to me asking _you_ to be my boyfriend?" Deceit whispers.

Roman's face heated. "W-what?"

"Come, I'll show you." Deceit pulled him into his room, set down the bouquet, dragged him into the garden, and showed Roman what the garden had turned into after a mere one week. "I couldn't stop thinking about you," Deceit said, fighting through the urge to lie. "I knew I had hurt you, and in turn, it hurt me as well.. Roman, I.. I enjoyed the time we had together. However short it may be.. So.. How do I this-" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "..Don't be my boyfriend? I mean, _be my boyfriend_ \- Please."

Deceit quite enjoyed lying, but today was one of those days. Or this week, as a matter of fact.

Roman said nothing. Only stomped forward to wrap his arms around Deceit's shoulders, before pressing their lips together. Deceit screwed his eyes shut as they embraced each other tightly, his own arms slung around Roman's waist. They panted as they pulled away. 

"You're bad fucking liar, Deceit," Roman breathed as they rested their foreheads together.

"Oh, _honey_." He caressed Roman's cheek. "I know."


End file.
